Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
March 2021 - Belarus Special Weapons News
|
- U.S. Signals Special License For State-Owned Belarusian Firms Won't Be Extended RFE/RL 31 Mar 2021 -- The U.S. State Department will recommend against the renewal of a general license authorizing transactions with nine state-owned Belarusian companies, spokesman Ned Price said on March 31.
- Belarus Says Opposition Leader Under Investigation For 'Terrorism' RFE/RL 29 Mar 2021 -- Belarusian prosecutors opened a terrorism investigation against opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the latest move from authorities trying to quash opposition groups after months of anti-government protests.
- Over 200 Detained In Belarus Protests Muted By Heavy Security Presence RFE/RL 27 Mar 2021 -- Police in Belarus detained more than 200 people and cordoned off streets in the capital, Minsk, to prevent fresh protests on March 27, as the opposition vowed to breathe new life into the pro-democracy movement after braving months of repression.
- U.S. Lawmakers Demand Belarus Release Blogger Losik From Prison RFE/RL 27 Mar 2021 -- A group of lawmakers in the U.S. Congress has condemned the "unjust and illegitimate detainment" of Ihar Losik, a popular blogger and RFE/RL consultant jailed in Belarus, calling for his immediate release in the latest show of support from the highest echelons of government.
- Freedom Day March Highlights Challenges Facing Belarusian Opposition RFE/RL 26 Mar 2021 -- As pro-democracy supporters marched down the streets of Minsk on March 25, a reporter did a video interview with Nina Bahinskaya, a frail yet fiery veteran of protests in Belarus for decades.
- Scores Detained As Belarusians Take To Streets In New Wave Of Protests Against Lukashenka RFE/RL 25 Mar 2021 -- Belarusian authorities say they have detained more than 200 people as people took to the streets of Minsk and other cities, heeding a call by opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya to start a new wave of protests against Alyaksandr Lukashenka to coincide with the anniversary of the short-lived Belarusian People's Republic.
- U.S. Calls For Release Of All Political Prisoners in Belarus RFE/RL 25 Mar 2021 -- The United States continues to call for the release of all political prisoners in Belarus, site of nearly daily protests since a disputed presidential election last year handed Alyaksandr Lukashenka a sixth term amid claims the vote was rigged.
- UN Rights Body Looks To Investigate Belarus's Crackdown On Protesters RFE/RL 24 Mar 2021 -- The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has approved a resolution to create a team to investigate Belarus's violent crackdown on demonstrators protesting against presidential elections last year that authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka claims to have won.
- Joint Statement by 19 States in Support of the Establishment of the International Accountability Platform for Belarus US Dept. of State 24 Mar 2021 -- The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
- UK announces €500k funding to help gather evidence of human rights violations in Belarus UK FCDO 24 Mar 2021 -- The UK contributes 500,000 euros to the International Accountability Platform to collect and store evidence of human rights violations and torture in Belarus.
- Leader Of Belarus Opposition Party Detained Amid Crackdown RFE/RL 23 Mar 2021 -- The leader of the opposition United Civil Party (AHP) has been detained on unknown charges amid an ongoing crackdown on Belarusians demanding the resignation of the country's authoritarian leader, Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
- Tsikhanouskaya Stresses Need For Further Aid To Bring Belarus 'Closer To Democracy' RFE/RL 22 Mar 2021 -- Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has expressed gratitude for the international community's support for her country's "peaceful fight for human dignity," but says the West needs to continue to help in the battle to remove the regime of authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Luksashenka.
- Belarusian Opposition Looks To Reenergize Protests Against Lukashenka RFE/RL 21 Mar 2021 -- Over the winter, fewer Belarusians have taken to the streets to demand the ouster of longtime authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka amid cold weather, a brutal government crackdown, and perhaps fatigue.
- Protests In Minsk, Warsaw Show Solidarity With Belarusian Opposition RFE/RL 21 Mar 2021 -- Demonstrations took place in Minsk, towns outside the Belarusian capital, and in Warsaw on March 21 as part of ongoing protests sparked by the August presidential election that the Belarusian opposition says was rigged.
- Lukashenka Holds Up Sanctioned Ex-Ministers As Possible Successors In Belarus RFE/RL 19 Mar 2021 -- Alyaksandr Lukashenka used a televised appearance on March 19 to say that two former Belarusian government ministers currently under Western sanctions would be "strong candidates" who could succeed him after a possible presidential election.
- UN Expert Denounces 'Increasing Crackdown' On Belarus Rights Activists RFE/RL 19 Mar 2021 -- The UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders has expressed concerns over an "increasing crackdown" against activists in Belarus, following reports of "suspected reprisals" against two defenders who have collaborated with the UN Human Rights Office.
- Tsikhanouskaya Asks U.S. To Widen Belarus Sanctions To Include Lukashenka's 'Wallets' RFE/RL 18 Mar 2021 -- Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has called on the United States to put more pressure on authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka by expanding sanctions to bring maximum pressure on the Belarusian regime and force it to answer the opposition's calls for dialogue.
- Belarus Opposition Leader Renews Battle Against Lukashenka RFE/RL 18 Mar 2021 -- Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has made good on promises to reignite the effort to topple Alyaksandr Lukashenka, calling for renewed protests over a disputed presidential election, announcing a nationwide online vote on possible mediated negotiations to end the crisis, and more sanctions from the United States to pressure the authorities.
- More Than 400 People Convicted In Belarus Over Postelection Protests RFE/RL 17 Mar 2021 -- More than 400 people have been convicted so far in a brutal crackdown by authorities against pro-democracy protesters in Belarus following a disputed presidential election seven month ago.
- Jailed Belarusian Blogger Losik Ends Hunger Strike, Put In Solitary Confinement RFE/RL 16 Mar 2021 -- Ihar Losik, a popular blogger and RFE/RL consultant jailed in Belarus since last June on charges his supporters say are trumped up, has ended a hunger strike and is now in solitary confinement.
- Tsikhanouskaya Calls On Jailed Belarusians To Stop Their Hunger Strikes RFE/RL 15 Mar 2021 -- Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has called on three jailed Belarusians to stop hunger strikes they started to protest their incarceration as part of a crackdown on those speaking out against authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
- Lukashenka Says Belarus May Submit New Eurovision Entry After Backlash RFE/RL 13 Mar 2021 -- Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka said his country may submit a new entry to the Eurovision Song Contest after the first one was rejected for being political.
- Belarus registers coronavirus variant first discovered in Britain People's Daily 12 Mar 2021 -- The coronavirus variant first discovered in Britain was registered in Belarus, the press service of the Belarusian Health Ministry said on Thursday.
- Poland Expels Belarusian Diplomats As Tensions Continue RFE/RL 12 Mar 2021 -- Poland has expelled two Belarusian diplomats in what a deputy minister called an act of "reciprocity" as the two sides fight over a recent World War II commemoration and Warsaw's support of pro-democracy activists in Belarus.
- Lukashenka Replaces Chief Of Investigative Committee, Other Senior Officials RFE/RL 11 Mar 2021 -- Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka has replaced the country's Investigative Committee chief and several other senior officials amid a continued crackdown on protesters demanding his resignation over an election last year they say was rigged.
- Dozens Detained In Minsk Amid Crackdown On Anti-Lukashenka Protests RFE/RL 11 Mar 2021 -- Police and security forces raided several apartments in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, overnight and detained dozens of people amid an ongoing crackdown against protesters demanding the country's authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka resign.
- Norwegian Agro-Giant Faces Pressure To Leave Lukashenka's Belarus RFE/RL 10 Mar 2021 -- Some 100 workers at Belaruskali, a state-run potash producer that is one of the few flickering jewels in the much-tarnished crown of Belarusian state-run industry, joined strikes last year to demand authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka step down after a disputed election.
- IOC Refuses To Recognize Lukashenka's Son As Belarus's Olympic Chairman RFE/RL 09 Mar 2021 -- The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has refused to recognize Viktar Lukashenka, the eldest son of Alyaksandr Lukashenka, as the new chairman of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Belarus.
- New Film Details 'Lukashenka's Luxurious Life' RFE/RL 09 Mar 2021 -- The Polish-based Belarusian opposition news outlet Nexta has published an investigative film about Alyaksandr Lukashenka's "luxurious life."
- Belarus Opposition Leader Calls for Global Action, Not Words VOA 08 Mar 2021 -- Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya is in Switzerland this week to drum up international pressure on President Alexander Lukashenko to resign and negotiate a peaceful transfer of power. Lukashenko was reelected for a sixth term in office on August 9 in an election that was widely seen as fraudulent.
- Protests, Prisons, Political Exile: Women At The Forefront Of Resistance In Belarus RFE/RL 07 Mar 2021 -- Dismissed by Alyaksandr Lukashenka as too fragile to run Belarus, women have been at the vanguard of the pro-democracy movement that has swept the country since the disputed presidential election on August 9, 2020.
- Belarus Opens Criminal Case Against Top Human Rights Group RFE/RL 06 Mar 2021 -- Belarusian authorities have opened a criminal investigation against one of the country's most prominent human rights organizations and detained several of its members, in the latest crackdown on dissent against authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
- Is China Cooling On Belarus's Lukashenka? RFE/RL 05 Mar 2021 -- When Alyaksandr Lukashenka met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on February 22 to discuss financial and integration issues, there was one political card noticeably absent from the Belarusian leader's hand: China.
- Belarus Request For Tsikhanouskaya Extradition Rejected By Lithuania RFE/RL 05 Mar 2021 -- Belarusian authorities have officially requested that Lithuania extradite opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who has been living in the Baltic country since leaving amid safety fears following a disputed presidential election that sparked mass protests that have been put down violently by authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
